Shooting Dreams and Falling Stars
by Princess Loli
Summary: My first Fanfic on here! The story of eleven girls (O.C.s)as they make their way into the AKB0048, and hop into the fast paced world of idols. Who will become the first to surpass and graduate?
1. Chapter 1

(Author's Note: Thank you for reading my first fanfic posted onto here! ^^ I've been writing fanfiction since 2008, so hopefully I have improved from then. The only reason I am posting this one first, is because I gave my friends ocs (original characters) in this, so I feel like this would be a fun fanfic to write. ^^ To my friends reading this: All of your ocs have different names than that of the person that oc represents. Good luck figuring out who's who~!)

(2nd Author's Note: This takes place after Nagisa's generation became the new AKB0048, and also after they surpassed some of AKB's original idols/ inherited their names)

"Oof!" Long scarlet curls swirled in mid-air as Manami fell to the ground.

"Pfff-ha ha ha!" A nearby girl with her jet-black hair in a fluffy, puffy ponytail burst into laughter, hugging her stomach.

"Maaaai!" A third friend groaned angrily at the laughing one. "Don't laugh! We have to keep practicing!"

"I-ha ha! I'm sorry, it's just that-" Mai continued laughing uncontrollably while Manami got up and dusted herself off.

"Guys-guys!" Manami put her fingers to her lips, trying to shush them. "Remember that we can't get caught practicing-just for once!"

"Manamiiiii- I think I'm tired of practicing for tonight~!" Mai groaned. At this, Manami let out a sigh.

"Alright. Same time and same place tomorrow, girls." She told her friends.

"See you tomorrow!" Mai and Nana said as they made their way up the stairs of the basement, and down the hall through the front door. Manami waved them off before she took her phone and mini speakers up to her room with her.

She laid down on her bed and looked up at her ceiling. Her father let her keep some of her posters up. But Manami only hung her AKB0048 posters over her head. Her book and videogame posters were okay to put up on the walls, but because of the heavy entertainment ban…

Well. The girl hated to think about it.

Instead, Manami took her earbuds, plugged them into her phone, and fell asleep listening to AKB0048 before she could get mad over the entertainment ban.

She woke up late in the morning, shutting off her phone. The battery was nearly dead anyway, so she put it in its charger to keep it from dying. Manami knew she would need her phone to play the music for their practices later.

"I wonder if we'll get in.." She thought to herself. "We're nothing like the girls in the group, but still.." She sighed, getting out of bed slowly.

_"In. your..position..Set!"_ An AKB0048 jingle started up from her phone. Getting a sudden jolt of energy, Manami swiftly spun around and hopped onto the bed in a hurry, checking her phone.

An email.

From the AKB0048 Fanclub.

She hit "open" without a thought.

_"Greetings!" _A hologram of nearly a dozen girls bowing popped up—the current generation of AKB0048!

_"This is an important message from us at AKB." _A girl with long, wavy aquamarine hair smiled.

_"We are currently looking for trainees to become the next generation of 00!" _ A shorter girl with long blonde ponytails spoke up.

_"If you are interested in becoming one of those who keeps music and entertainment alive…" _One girl with raspberry-colored hair said.

_"Or wish to inherit the name of your favorite idol.." _A soft-spoken girl with very fluffy, light pink, elbow-length hair continued.

_"Then please send us your audition recordings!" _The shortest and youngest girl, one with a cute bunny-eared hat jumped forward.

_"Simply email them to us before the deadline, and next week you will be informed if you passed the first round!" _A bright, bold red-haired girl smiled. Next came the voice of a taller girl with glasses and soft green hair.

_"The first deadline is July 14__th__. You as of now have a week to practice your dancing and or singing, and to submit a copy of your audition performance to AKB."_

_ "Good luck!" _All of the girls bowed once more before the transmission ended.

"A…A week?!" Manami loudly whispered to herself in shock, "But there's no way we'll be able to get _that_ good in _that_ time!" She threw her head into her hands, but soon afterwards picked up her phone again.


	2. Chapter 2

(Author's Note: So all of my friends started guessing they were Mai. .-. Well, I have a feeling this is going to be even more interesting than I originally thought it would be. xD)

"Manami-chaaan!" Ten minutes later, her friend Nana ran through the door, and into Manami's room. " I got here as soon as I could!" She ran up to hug Manami.

"C'mon, Nana. Let's get some practice in while we still can. Which song are you doing, again?" Manami asked, detaching herself from Nana's grip.

"Kibou Ni Tsuite!" Nana jumped several feet in the air, and put her arms up. Manami got her phone out, and started to play the track so Nana could practice.

The girls kept practicing whenever they could for the next two days. Nana had chosen Kibou Ni Tsuite, Manami took Beginner, and Mai got Uza.

"Hey..Manami- can you record me now? I want to get my audition sent in." Mai asked. Manami gave a serious nod.

"Yeah.. And then we can record mine." She said, with a slight tremble in her voice.

"Hey! Don't forget about meee!" Nana hopped over, putting an arm around the two of her friends. The three of them laughed before recording each other's performances.

The recording was difficult. Sometimes one of them would distract the dancer, or make some noise like giving advice or sneezing. Don't forget when they tripped or sung the wrong lyrics. After recording, the girls noticed it was way after sunset.

"Sleepover?" Manami gave the girls a sheepish smile after they looked outside.

"Oh my gosh!" Nana began fangirling again, imagining of all the things they could stay up doing. "Although what about or PJs?"

"You can just borrow mine. I have a couple spare pairs, anyway." Manami hopped up, got to her closet, and took out all of her pajamas.

"Whoah…" Mai stared at all the fluffy nightgowns, oversized tees, and mid-thigh shorts.

"I love this one!" Nana snatched up and hugged a pink and white ruffled nightgown. Mai quietly held up an oversized teal shirt with lime green and teal striped shorts.

While her friends were in the bathrooms changing into their pajamas, Manami hugged her knees to her chest on her bed. "Why didn't we change into something cuter for our auditions? Presentation is everything- well, it's a lot. After all, just look at the girls of AKB. Nearly no one can be as perfect as they are-they're flawless on every stage.." She thought. "Yet…"

~~~~~~~~~Flashback, over four years ago~~~~~~~~~

"What do you wanna be when you grow up, Aoi?" A ten year-old with short red twirled hair asks her friend as they walk down the sidewalk.

Her friend had long, dark brown hair, long arms and legs, and several beauty marks on her face and limbs. The most notable thing about Aoi, though, was her face. Her skinny, small nose and her thin lips along with her indescribable eyes gave the ten year-old the face if a grown woman.

"I want to be an idol." Her thin, pale pink lips formed a smile as she spoke.

"What?!" Manami stopped in her tracks, while Aoi walked several steps ahead before turning around on a heel. "No way! You can't – you'll be locked up for good just from a rehearsal!" Manami started whispering as they walked past a few people and a park on their way.

"Not necessarily." Aoi kept her dark eyes locked on the path ahead. Manami gave her a confused look. _"What is she thinking?!"_ Manami thought, _"Is she insane? She's like the most popular kid in town! How do you just throw that away?!" _She didn't understand.

"Not unless my will is stronger than theirs." Aoi got even more serious as her dark chocolate eyes gleamed. The two walked in silence to the bus stop, sitting down and putting their backpacks down. Aoi's in her lap, and Manami's between them.

Slowly, the pit-pat of grey rain increased around the bus stop. Aoi looked over her shoulder, to see three familiar boys scattering throughout the park. Her darling dark chocolate eyes darted after one of them for the fleeting minute.

Little did Manami know how much this memory would mean.

She would never forget no matter how many years passed by.

As the rain continued to fall from the pale white sky, a cerulean, white, and silver bus came rumbling up the road. When Aoi got onto her bus, it was the last time Manami would ever see or hear from her.

~~~~~~~~~Flashback, over four years ago~~~~~~~~~

Aoi. Aoi was the one who could make it into AKB. If she was determined and graceful back then, no one could imagine what she was like now- wherever she was.

"Not unless my will is stronger than theirs…" Manami whispered it to herself. The door clicked open.

"Heeeeeyy sexy-"

"MAI!" Manami threw a pillow at her currently Gangnam-Styling friend.

Were strong wills the secret? Could they really become galatically known idols just by their wills?


	3. Chapter 3

(Author's Note: Wow~ *-* I have to thank you guys for all the support, reviews, and even character submissions! ^^ The support for this fanfiction has been so amazing to me, I got motivated to stay up until midnight last night to draft _**seven**_ more chapters! :D I felt a little guilty for just leaving the fanfic without updates for several days, so I decided I'm going to update as much as I can tonight! ^^ Enjoy~) (By the way, this takes place the next day~) (Extra Author's Note: Wow, guys. I wrote that days ago, but feel so guilty over not being able to publish this sooner ;-; The good news is I have about 10 chapters of this fanfic to upload, and even started on the sequel! :D I also got ideas for around 2-3 _dozen_ fanfics today!^^ One last note before I leave-since I can't update everyday, at least two updates per week, guaranteed on this fanfic!)

"Nana! Mai!" Manami suddenly grabbed her phone with both hands, letting her right hand off the handlebar of her Litecycle: a high tech, one wheeled, blue and white version of a bicycle. The bike began swerving left and right at a rapid pace; into the empty road, back onto the sidewalk, into a lane of the street, then around her friends, and flying on a course with the railing of the bridge.

Manami let out a high-pitched yip as she squinted and braced for the impact. Although she did forget that all Litecycles automatically stop at least an inch before a wall- it helped texting teens from crashing into things, ironically.

_"Pi-bi-beep! Pi-bi-beep!"_

_ "Shoujotachi yo~"_

Nana jogged her way to Manami, while reaching into her bear-shaped bag for her PDA, while Mai walked behind her. Mai was digging in her skirt pocket for her phone, to check her email. The three were all together as they gaped at the screens of their phones:

_"Congratulations! You have passed through the 1__st__ round of auditions! Simply show this email as a ticket aboard the Beginner Express at Shinju Station, to be taken to the second round! Good luck!"_

Nana began clinging to Mai's arm, as the three of them crowded around their phones. All three girls had eyes brimming with glossy tears.

"I…I…" Mai couldn't think of any words to describe their feelings. Hope? Luck? Relief? Maybe it was happiness in the most surprising way. Or perhaps they didn't even know what emotion they had flowing through their bodies.

"C'mon." Manami got up, spun around, and pressed a button on her Litecycle. Ignoring her streaming tears, she caught the keychain the Litecycle had turned into, with her hands cupped. She grabbed the charm with her left hand, clenching onto it with a fist as tears of joy continued to hit the pavement. Manami took Nana's left arm, and started running down the sidewalk as fast as her legs would take her.

"Where are we going?" Nana kept hopping behind Manami, and even held onto Mai with her other arm.

"My house." Manami smiled, her tears began to shrink in number.

"To hide?!" Mai yelled worriedly. Would the D.E.S. begin looking for them already?

"No—to celebrate!" Manami kept running with a smile.

-Timeskip, about four minutes later-

"Dad!" Manami flew to her father, giving him a tight hug after he opened the door for them.

"…Eh?" The man in jeans and an olive green t-shirt gave an awkward smile to his daughter. "Oh." He noticed the guests that had been accompanying his daughter, and gave them a kind smile as he saw their pink eyes. "Please," He moved out of the way and held the door open. "Come on in. I'll get some iced tea for you girls." He removed his daughter's arms from his body, and gave her head a pat before leading everyone into the kitchen.

Nana and Mai sat down at the dark wooden table in Manami's kitchen. Next came in Manami, who trudged in tiredly through the doorway. She pulled out a chair and flopped onto the seat. Manami put her arms on the table, and then tried to take a nap by using her arms as a pillow. The trio of girls was still in shock from their emails.

In several minutes, Manami's father walked back in with a snow-white tray of iced tea bottles and several snack-sized bags of chips and pretzels.

"Here you go." He set down the tray in the middle of the three girls. "You girls looked like you've worn yourselves out, so I figured you might want to get your strength back." He smiled.

"Thaaa~nks~" The girls chimed in unison and exhaustion. How many blocks did they run again? At least a dozen.

In a hurry, Manami turned on her phone and opened the email once more. She held out the phone to her dad, who's eyes widened at the message.

"Congratulations!" Her proudly applauded for them. "The date on the message says the train leaves at 5 A.M. in two days. If you'd like, you girls can have a sleepover here tomorrow, and spend a night with your families tonight."

"That shounds greayt!" Nana nodded cheerfully. She was stuffing handful after handful of mini pretzels into her mouth. Meanwhile, Mai was just pouring an entire bag of chips into her own mouth. Since Manami had pretty much caught her breath, she just sipped some ice-cold iced tea through a striped bendy straw.

"Just relax and rest, girls. Soon you'll be rushed between rehearsals, handshake events, photo shoots…" The girls' eyes began to shine as they started to imagine what stardom could look like- no annoying siblings, thousands of cheering fans, stylists dressing you flawlessly from head to toe… "I'll be in the backyard if you girls need me. If you want anything, don't hesitate to ask." He smiled before walking out of the room.

Although the girls just couldn't stop dreaming. What was it like to record a CD that would sell millions of copies? How would they feel in front of thousands of fans? And then there were the music videos, election, succession….


	4. Chapter 4

(Author's Note: I just got back from a dentist appointment about twenty minutes ago, and two or three of my teeth (only on my bottom jaw!) still hurt. I'm updating for all of you, though! ^^ Please enjoy the fanfiction~ uvu)

"Who do you want to succeed?" Manami spoke, leaning on the table with her elbows, and a hand on either side of her chin/cheeks.

"Nyan-Nyan…maybe? Mayuyu is cute, too…" Nana drifted ever so slowly back into her daydream.

"Yuko Oshima or Takahashi Minami!" Mai pumped a fist in the air, while she crushed a chip bag with her other hand.

"Really?! You'd go for the AKB captain?" Nana leaned forward as her and her soft voice snapped back into reality. Mai gave a determined and sharp nod.

"Why not?" She smirked in reply. "Go big or go home."

Manami gave a deep breath out. _"It still feels like a dream.."_ She thought. All there was was just another round of auditions: The final selection. And the three of them were chosen out of all the other girls in the galaxy! So they couldn't make any mistakes now- they had to try harder. Perfect outfits, perfect voices, perfect make-up, and for Manami and Mai's first time: perfect. Girly. Make-up.

As soon as she looked up to see her friends had gotten their strength and energy back, she got up. "C'mon. Let's go hang out in my room for awhile."

In her room, Manami put on a fashion show for her friends. She would never know how much help she would need to find her perfect outfit. Or even one that was in her closet.

"What about this?" Manami added several necklaces, and a cowgirl hat to her already colorful outfit.

"Eh…" Nana didn't know what to say for once. It _definitely _wasn't 0048 material. A frilly skirt over jeans with a bright green collared top with ruffles down the middle. Well: at least she tried.

~~~~~Timeskip, a day later, in the morning (day of departure for final auditions!)~~~~~

Manami flung open her closet doors, as she frantically scrambled to look for something: the perfect outfit. Would jeans work? Probably not- it was a hot summer. A hoodie? She didn't need one, and it might give her a lazy look.

"What would Nana and Mai wear…" Manami mumbled to herself. She picked up a tutu. _"No…Nana would wear that."_ She thought. The redhead picked up a black short-sleeved jumpsuit. She loved black, and the pants' legs would be a little shorter than halfway to her knees. Perfect! To put underneath it, she got an old T-shirt, which once belonged to her mother.

Manami remembered the stories she had been told regarding her mother. Her mother constantly fought for entertainment, and was even an AKB0048 fan! AKB ran in Manami's blood.

The T-shirt was a vintage one, from an old English-speaking group. The group went back even decades before the original AKB started on Earth, but the faded teddy bears on the shirt were too cute to leave behind. Manami snatched the shirt, and saw that it was still a size (or several) too big, so she took a rubber band and tied it around the excess t-shirt she pulled and twisted together at the bottom. She zipped up part of the jumpsuit, and began looking for a cute belt to go through the belt loops.

When Manami rummaged through her dresser, she found a cute aqua-bedazzled butterfly-buckled belt, and slipped that on. She got socks with black and aqua sneakers on, got a black chain bracelet, and slipped it on.

After completing her outfit, Manami had to pack her bag. Curling irons, hair accessories, all her jewelry, two changes of clothes, a couple of small stuffed animals, and a pair of pajamas were all that fit into her bag. She walked downstairs, feeling a surge of excitement race through her.


	5. Chapter 5

(Author's Note: Sigh~ I still have so much updating to do~! The continued support really does motivate me, though!^^ I've created two generations of AKB0048 girls, and got more ideas for the sequel :3 So thank you, everyone!w I never knew AKB0048 was this popular…I hope everyone else is watching the live concerts!^^ By the way, this chapter is one of my favorites so far! Enjoy~)

"All ready to go?" Manami's father asked as his daughter walked down the stairs. She gave him a firm nod. Nana and Mai, who were standing at the bottom of the steps, offered their approval on her outfit choice.

"Much better than last time!" Nana clapped and jumped with delight.

"Mm-hm." Mai smiled and gave two nods.

The girls followed Manami's father into the living room, where he pulled out a faded blue book from one of the bookshelves. He turned around to face his daughter.

"Manami, this is for you." He held out the book to her. "You know how many things are going digital these days, so when your mother and I made digital copies of these pictures, we kept all the original copies in this album. I know this will help you keep some of your memories alive in your mind." He spoke calmly, and his daughter accepted the album with a look of unbreakable determination. There would be no going back soon.

His daughter gave him a long hug as soon as her eyes had began to water. Mai and Nana gave quiet, depressed sighs while they looked in different directions. It was difficult to say goodbye to their parents. But it was time. The girls had to spread their wings and leave their nest for their dreams.

It was a silent walk to Manami's garage. Inside, the girls saw an unfamiliar object covered with a big white tarp.

"What's that?" Mai ran up to it, eager to figure out what the mystery object was.

"This…" The man pulled off the tarp, revealing a gleaming black, silver, and pink motorcycle in pristine condition. "..is a vintage 0048 motorcycle. An heirloom of the house, from the original AKB48." Nana's eyes got brighter, bigger, and rounder as she came to a realization.

"Gingham Check…!" She gasped in disbelief and put her hands on either side of her face. It was incredible!

"Since only a licensed driver can operate it, I'll drive. Do you have your Litecycle, 'Nami?" He asked and turned to Manami.

"Mh." She nodded, taking it out and pressing a button that would turn it into a Litecycle again. In a flash, it went from a bear-shaped keychain to a cute sky blue and polar white bike.

"Do either of you girls know how to drive a Litecycle?" He looked to Manami's friends. The duo shook their heads nearly simultaneously.

"Then Manami, you'll drive the Litecycle, while I drive the Gingham Check. One of your friends can ride with you, the other with me." He put on a pair of black leather gloves and a black helmet from a shelf right before he got onto the motorcycle. The father-daughter duo started up their bikes with low roars (The Litecycle is an electric bike, but pedaling can help it gain speed too ^^) . Nana hopped excitedly onto the Gingham Check, while Mai held on tight on the Litecycle.

The garage doors slowly opened, revealing the dim light of a starting sunrise.

"Hold on tight, girls!" The father gave one warning as they sped out of the garage, and the door closed behind in the dust.

Manami followed right behind her father as they drove to the abandoned station.

"What time is it?" Nana called to Manami.

"FOUR-THIRTY!" Mai yelled back over the roar of engines. The Litecycle had a big clock between the handlebars.

"We're gonna make it!" Manami announced gleefully. (You really should listen to Uza by AKB48 for the rest of the chapter~ ^^) Suddenly, something small whizzed by her hair, the force making her ruby curls glide through the air even more. Manami and Mai were looking over their shoulders, seeing the unbelievable.

One big, black robo-suit mecha and two blue and white cop cars were speeding behind them. The D.E.S. was on their trail.

"What was-" Manami's father looked behind his shoulder to make sure the girls were okay, but his black eyes were drawn to the scene behind them. "Let's try to lose 'em—follow my lead!" He yelled to the girls on the Litecycle.

The riders made turn after turn after turn. They lost one cop car, but the robot and remaining car were gaining on them.

"Never thought I'd have to use this.." Manami's dad mumbled.

"Use wha-" Nana didn't even have time to finish her question before she heard gears moving behind her- and it wasn't the robot. A secret compartment in the motorcycle opened up! Inside were rows of fireworks, one being lit each second. With a small, high-pitched, _"pii-bii-piip!" _noise, the fireworks began to fly out, and hit the ground by the cop car and the mecha. Some even hit the robot's legs, sending him back a few feet! The three girls watched in shock as two of the cop car's tires blew out from the fireworks, stopping him right in the middle of the road!

The robot kept up it's pursuit at a furious pace- what could they do? The robot's shoulders had something pop out of them: guns. And that's when Mai got onto her knees on the Litecycle, then on only one knee. One hand held onto Manami's shoulder, as Mai's other arm went through her own knapsack. She got out a compact, and a small silver box. She flipped open the compact, flipped off the top of the box- revealing it was a lighter- and lit the eye shadow of the compact on fire.

Immediately, the powder burst into flames.

"Take _this_!" Mai threw the flaming compact at the robot. Her aim from the school's softball club proved to pay off, as her compact hit the middle of the robot's chest, setting it in flames. The compact even stuck there for a while, leaving a glob of gleaming cerulean eye shadow to fuel the fire. Manami and Nana gaped in even more shock.


	6. Chapter 6

(Hello~! ^^ It's the end of the marking period in school, and as always, the teachers are assigning whatever work they forgot to give us yet x'D I still feel touched by all the support I'm receiving from this fanfic~ QAQ one of you even called me "Hime-sama"! /w/ I'm already supposed to be asleep, and I have a 5 paragraph essay due later, but I really feel like I have to not leave you guys alone with just that last chapter…Enjoy! :D)

(…I typed that up yesterday, when I was planning a surprise update~ OTL Anyway, enjoy the chapter~ ^^) (…Now it's Monday and I got back from a dentist appointment…D: Sorry about the slowed update, minna~!)

The bikes sped up as they left the last of the D.E.S. behind them.

"There it is!"

"Shinju Station!" Nana and Manami cheered as Mai gave off a few more huffing breaths in the direction of the robot. Manami and her father gave their bikes one more speed boost before stopping several feet short of the train tracks. Everyone hopped off their bikes, and Manami turned hers into a keychain again. She strapped the keychain onto her bag, and ran right for the station platform with her friends. Manami's father took the Gingham Check bike with them, keeping the kickstand up as he jogged behind them. When they were steps away from the platform, they heard the whirling of turbines overhead. A small flying hovercraft got ready to land nearby. It was brass, and had many details engraved into the sides. Nana reached for Manami's arm as it got closer and closer. Was it D.E.S. backups? Or the Beginner Express? Would they be taken to the second round, or to jail?

When it landed, Manami's dad slid in front of the girls. Among all the details on the train, her then noticed one thing- _"S.S. Beginner" _was engraved onto a plaque. The man immediately stepped back, and gave a teary-eyed smile to the girls. They had finally made it.

A woman in a business suit came out of the S.S. Beginner. She looked at her clipboard. "Are you three Mai Sugawara, Manami Motomiya, and Nana Nakajima?" She asked sharply.

"Y-Yes!" The trio nervously replied, stood much straighter, and fumbled through their bags for their phones.

"Don't worry about the email." The woman smiled at them. "I can recognize you from your audition videos. We're hurrying it up a little bit right now, since we saw some D.E.S. approaching. Step on in, girls." She held the shuttle door open for them. Manami gave her father one last hug before he waved them off.

The girls walked inside, and watched from the round windows behind their seats.

"Good luck!" They heard him yell right before an engine roared to life, and the girls were flying on their way to the second round.

They took a long nap during most of the ride. When they had gotten onto the S.S. Beginner, it was just five a.m. And the girls needed all their strength if they were going to make it through the second round.

When Nana's eyelids fluttered open, she looked out the window. She screamed when she just took a lazy peek at it.

"Geez, Nana. You don't have to scream so...-yawn-…much." Unaware, Manami rubbed her own eyelids, having been woken up from Nana's shriek. Meanwhile, Mai had a different reaction: groaning loudly from the row of seats across from them. She was on her back, gripping onto the top and bottom of the seat, trying to stay on.

Just then, the woman walked through a door from the cockpit of the hovercraft.

"Ah. I see you're all awake now. The pilot would like you to know we'll be docking soon."

"At Akibastar?!" Manami looked at her in disbelief. They were being taken to another planet?!

"No." The woman calmly corrected her, still holding a smile on her face. "To the S. ."


	7. Chapter 7

(Author's Note~:I can't believe it. I haven't updated in _**20. DAYS.**_ I feel guilty for pushing this off until now~ ;-; I'm planning on finishing the series before I get out of school in late June, so that I can relax somewhat over Summer Break~ As an apology for not updating this long, I'll try to update everyday for this week~(I got distracted by homework, my missing/late assignments, and I got a cold. My roleplay account has over 800 friends, so that's something too. It's really been a heck of a February~^^) For those of you who were confused about the S.S. Galaxlee, more will be explained of it in this chapter. :D It's like the luxury spaceship Nagisa and her friends were on, but the S.S. Galaxlee has more security, and 99.99% of the people on it enjoy entertainment. :3 Kind of like a space cruise for AKB? XD Hope you all like it~ OTL)

Mai stared out her window in disbelief.

"Whoa…"

"If you look out your windows, you'll find the S.S. Galaxlee." The carnation-pink-haired woman told them, "Originally built by Tsutomu Tsubasa Lee Endo, the Galaxlee is the highest of all luxury space cruisers. It consists of hundreds of rooms, thousands of parties each year, and is covered in a three-inch layer of gold.." The trio of girls gradually tuned out of the woman's speech, as they watched the S.S. Beginner dock inside the S.S. Galaxlee.

Several minutes later, the girls gaped out the window as the woman touched her earpiece.

"Understood." She turned to the girls, "Once again, my name is Hanako Rie, and I will be showing you girls to your rooms right away. Please follow me." She smiled, and held the door open for the girls.

It was a twenty-minute walk through the inside of the cruise, since the girls would stop to gawk at every miniscule detail, or every refined-looking being. When the four finally reached the concealed staircase, Hanako held the door open for them.

"Quickly, now." She warned them sharply, then shut the door silently behind the four of them.

"Where are we?" Mai looked around, suspicious of the dark room. Could it have all been a D.E.S. trick? Nana was worriedly clinging onto one of Manami's arm, like a little kid. Hanako clapped her hands twice, and the girls saw a spiral staircase right above them, with small, round, kirara-like lights lining the sides of the steps, as well as the railing. The lights were built-in, since no wires could be seen. It looked like an endless rainbow swirl when they turned their heads toward the ceiling. Rie-san led the girls up the stairs, to another concealed door.

Once they got through the door, they saw a bright white, blue, green, and pink hallway ahead of them. Rie-san closed the second door, which was disguised as another closet door (like the entrance to the stairs was concealed). She scuttled ahead of the girls, and checked her clipboard. "Looks like you girls have room 3-Prime." She continued down the hallway, and then opened a door with a brass key. "Here." She tossed the key to Mai, and then threw two more copies to Manami and Mai. Hanako held the door open once more for the girls, and they walked in to find a luxurious bedroom.

It had a pure, bright white carpet and equally bright white walls with lime green, bubblegum pink, and sky blue bunnies painted onto the wall. Between two bunk beds hung a hot pink and silver chandelier from the ceiling. There were two vanities, two dressers, and a door on the left and right. The girls gaped at the bedroom- was this all for them?!

"You girls will be staying on the ship for just a day and a night at most. The Flying Get should be docking here for a brief performance tomorrow. Afterwards, you'll be taken to Akibastar to begin training for the second round of auditions." Hanako informed, "There should be a map of the Galaxlee in one of the drawers, and on your beds. See you girls later!" She smiled, winked, and closed the door before she went on her way.

As soon as the door closed, the girls split up, Nana and Mai explored the room, while Manami went right to a vanity.

"Make-up..Make-uuup…" She frisked through the drawers, looking for some eye shadow. All there was in the drawers was space to _put_ make-up. Meanwhile, Mai was going into the bathrooms, and climbing on top of the beds, trying to find the best view of space. Nana was just frolicking about, feeling like some royal space princess as she twirled about.


	8. Chapter 8

(Author's Note: Good news, minna~! I have no homework today~ Also, a new character will be introduced! :D She's based off of one of my friends who I met on a roleplay account over Facebook. XD Well, I'll get to typing! Can't wait to hear what you all think~^^)

As the girls calmed down, they sat down and relaxed. Who could blame them? They stopped cop cars with fireworks, got shot at by a gigantic robot, burned the robot with make-up, traveled through space, and were now without any family on the best space cruise in their galaxy.

"Hey…Are either of you hungry?" Mai asked. The other girls nodded. She hopped off the floor, walking towards the door. "Come on; let's find a restaurant or something. Do you think they sell bubble tea here?"

"Wait!" Nana yelled, leaned too far over the railing of the top bunk bed, and nearly fell off. She caught herself in time, while snatching something off her pillow. "Alright. We can go now." She took her time climbing down the ladder, and followed her friends out. Manami locked the door behind them, and let the girls go ahead while she did so. When she looked for her friends, she found them standing still at the intersection of the hallway, and gaping at someone going back and forth in the hall ahead of them.

The closer Manami got, the more detail she saw: It wasn't someone running; it was someone skateboarding. And it wasn't any someone; it was a teen around her age. A teen with short blond hair that was curled and spiked downwards at the ends. The skateboarder had a red and white baseball cap that was turned and slightly titled to the side, so her hair ever so slightly fanned out of the visor. At the edge of the netted back, was a bright green pink and green strawberry pin. The actual cap had a broken record painted onto it. She had thin eyebrows, very light blush, and some dark brown mascara, eye shadow, and eyeliner. Though it was contradicting to her blonder hair, it helped her bright, light, jade-green eyes stand out even more. Her music note earrings (one dangly treble cleft, the other a single note stud) were obsidian black, and the edges went below her hair tips by an inch or so.

The mystery girl wore a silver and black thick bracelet on her left wrist, and had a gray wristband with a black star and edges on her right arm (just halfway between her elbow and her wrist). She had a black and white collared button-up shirt with short sleeves, reminding Manami of a bowling shirt. The black matched with her necklace made of mini-chains that connected to an outline of "EviL" written in black bubble letters. In addition, she had a black, a red-green, and dandelion yellow pins together in a cluster on her shirt. She has black, long pants with rolled-up edges, which were kept rolled with pink diamond-shaped buttons. Her right pocket had a silver chain pinned to each end of the pocket, curving around the edge of the pocket. Lacy edges of her socks poked out from under the ends of her pant legs when she jumped to do a trick, and she had black, red, and white sneakers on. They had rubbed treads on the bottom, and snow-white laces. After watching her perform various tricks for a few minutes, Manami noticed the girl had a shiny, silver ring on, and had a lollipop in her mouth while she skateboarded.

The skateboarder glided through the intersection of the hallway, shifting her weight forward and back, so that the skateboard would move in a wave pattern.

"Sup." She nodded at Mai.

"N-Nuttin'." Mai crossed her arms, then managed to give the blonde a fist bump. Afterwards, the blonder dropped her board again, and swerved around each girl.

"Unfeminine style…" She said as she went around Mai. Next, she tried to give Nana a fist bump. Nana jumped back and put her arms up to cover/protect her face. "Too jumpy…" And lastly, she slid like a snake for two laps around Manami. "And too unprofessional!" She gave a scoff, now behind the trio. "Just kidding!" She burst into a short fit of giggles, which confused just about everyone around her.

"Yo!" Mai yelled at her, ignoring most of what just happened. "Know any good cafes here?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah." The blonde smiled. "What are you guys doing here anyway?" She asked over her shoulder as she skated to the secret staircase door. The trio followed her close behind, walking. The skater went slowly, so they wouldn't have to run to keep up.

"Actually, we're auditioning." Manami told her as soon as they got into the staircase room, and shut the door.

"No way." The skater girl flipped her board into the air, and caught it. Simultaneously, she spun on her heel and took a crunch on her lollipop.

"I guess it makes the four of us, then."


	9. Chapter 9

(Author's Note: Sorry that I'm updating so late at night~ I had bad chills today when I got home, and even under a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, and two blankets, I felt like I was in some sub-zero freezer. So I took a nap, finished my homework, and now I'm here. XD

What do you guys think of the new character? :3 Also, thank you all for the wonderful support so far~ a review/pm is what really makes me motivated to update more often, since your words stick in my mind. ^^ Enjoy the chapter~!:D)

"What?!" Mai stumbled down a few steps as the four girls walked down the staircase.

"Yeah!" The skater-girl warmly smiled at her. "It's good to see some future understudies can appreciate a skill other than singing, dancing, acting, or posing." _"She's right…"_ Mai thought, _"She's so talented-she __has_ to_ make it into 00!"_

_ "_Hey! Have you ever thought about who you want to inherit the name of?" Mai hurried ahead of her friends, to talk to the blonde.

"Heck yes! Jurina Matsui. Although Sae Miyazaki or Sayaka Akimoto would be great, too." She fist-pumped the air, and jumped down a few steps. "What about you?" She turned to Mai. Mai shrugged.

"Not entirely sure yet. Yuuko or Takamina always stood out for me, though."

"What about you girls? Who would you want to be?" The blonde looked at Manami and Nana.

"N-Nyan-Nyan! Or Mayuyu..maybe..T-Tomochin?" Nana flustered nervously. The skater looked to Manami now. Manami was focused on something else, though.

"You changed you answer?" She stared at Nana.

"Eh?"

"Last time we talked about succession, you said only mentioned Kojiharu or Mayu."

The skater-girl laughed at their conversation.

"You need focus, if you want to make it in." Her green eyes seemed to glow for a split second.

"R-Right…" Manami, confused by what she saw in the girl's eyes, stuttered to answer her. "I-I'm not picky, though…After all, any name is an honor!" She rubbed her wrist nervously.

The blonde skater laughed before she replied, "Speaking of names, I'm Noriko Fujioko." She shook hands with Mai.

"I'm Mai Sugawara. My friends are Nana Nakajima and Manami Motomiya." Mai smiled happily.

"Well it's nice to meet y'all." Noriko hopped onto the railing, sitting on it, and slid down for the last couple of steps. The group quietly sneaked out of the secret staircase, then casually walked in the halls. "You know- I actually got here with a couple of friends."

"Really?" Nana jogged closer to them with Manami.

"Yeah. Well…I brought just one here with me, but I'm meeting a really close friend. Her and I never met in person before, but we message each other every second and-" Just then the girls heard something vibrate and play an 8-bit ring tone. Noriko took her phone out of her pocket, and quickly pressed keys as she smiled briefly. "So anyway," She slid the phone back into her pocket. "The only friend I brought with me is Shiori Ishii. Her and I have been friends since we were babies." She smirked, remembering the details of her friendship. Manami noticed a café up ahead. _"Saint Honore"_ the sign read. _"Why does it seem so familiar…?" _Manami thought.

"Oh! There's the café!" Noriko and Mai ran ahead to the fancy-looking café/bakery. When the four teens got in, Noriko's phone began to ring again. Although this time, it was a jazz-like ring tone. None of the girls heard music like it before, but it was the closest genre to it. The blonde was anything but smooth as she fumbles to get to her phone.

"Yes?" She plugged one ear with a finger, while the other ear was against her phone. "What? Why would I loo-" She turned around and looked up at a girl with long dark brown hair and milky pale skin. Manami and Noriko shared the same shocked expression as they looked up at the girl, who towered over them by nearly a foot. The girl had a serene smile. She held her arms out a bit, opening them for a hug. Noriko just crashed right into her, and practically knocked her to the ground with the force. Noriko hugged her tightly, wrapping her arms around the girl's petite waist.

"There, there…" The taller girl cooed, slinking and arm around Noriko, and stroking the back of her head. "Just calm down, Noi-tan~ Introduce me to your new friends, perhaps." She smiled, tilting her head. Ever so slowly, Noriko obeyed. She let go, sniffled, and gave a light-hearted laugh at herself.

"Sorry…Just got a little to excited.." Noriko sheepishly grinned and scratched the back of her head. "Manami, Mai, Nana, meet Ai-tan." She stepped aside, gesturing to everyone.

"It's a p-pleasure to meet y-you!" Manami bowed in respect, and Ai curtsied to them all. Mai began to take a few steps closer to inspect Ai, who continued to smile no matter how awkward the meeting was getting.

"Oh my gosh! You're the spokesgirl for that bakery!" She gasped, suddenly feeling as if she was in the presence of a galatically-known celebrity.

"The Saint Honore girl!" Nana jumped in excitement and shock. So _that's_ where Manami had seen her! The companies for the most famous cafés and bakeries in the solar system! Although there was something else..A familiar element around Ai…

(Author's Note: New character~!:D Hope I didn't make Ai-chan too unrealistic…OTL

So far, she's my favorite character, I think! I've been wondering about something, though. Should I make the chapters longer? I felt the last one was too short/choppy.. I'm not confident about my grammar, either, but I at least want to get the story typed in some readable way~)


	10. Chapter 10

(Author's Note: My chills got worse, I felt faint, and I can't talk-so I got to stay in bed all day! I wrote more to the fanfic, which should be uploaded sometime later this week (probably Friday/the weekend?) I still have my phone, so I'll be able to respond to messages and reviews by my HTC Rhyme. Thank you Igeisha very much for the last review—I'm so glad you like Ai~ w Hope you like the new characters that are coming up, too!) (Last chapter: We met Noriko and Ai- a skateboarding blonde from Austar, and her tall, pale friend from Yorkstar. Manami, Nana, Mai, Noriko, and Ai were in the café when they met~)

"Why don't all of you sit down? I'll go order for the table." Ai smiled and walked to the register. Noriko took a seat at the table Ai had jumped up from, and the trio of girls followed.

"So, you guys know anyone else entering?" Noriko looked at them while she waited for Ai to get back. She had her elbows on the table, and held her head up with her hands.

"No…" Mai sighed.

"Oh.. Well, you know, Ai told me she brought a few friends with her. We really 'ought a hangout tonight, or something! You know.. AKB will be picking us up tomorrow night—right after a performance~!" She bounced in her seat and smiled out of the excitement.

Just then, Ai walked back, still smiling.

"I got some snacks~" Manami immediately got teary-eyed from what Ai said. She was reminded of a certain man who wore casual t-shirts, and owned the coolest motorcycle ever (That Nana fangirled over, whether she admits it or not). "Hope you don't mind: I picked cake for everyone~" Ai giggled. Manami felt a lump growing in her throat. "For you," Ai picked up a light pink plate, " 'Death by Chocolate', and a cup of iced coffee." She handed the plate of chocolate cake to Noriko, who got even more excited than she already was. Ai set the tray on the table before handing a tall glass of iced coffee to the blonde.

"And for our new friends~" Ai jumped and spun midair, like some magical girl. "A slice of Strawberry Mousse with almond cookies and a fruit kompot (boiled fruit juice- Nana's is light pink, since it's berry flavored :3) for Nana-nyan~" She gave two plates and a dainty teacup to Nana.

"T-Thank you!" Nana flustered and blushed at her new nickname. _"Being served tea by a princess~"_, She thought.

"For Ai-Ma (Mai's name in Pig Latin?), a piece of carrot cake, a bag of gummy bears, and a green apple soda." Ai blushed the faintest shade of pink as she handed Mai her snack. Mai caught the blush, which confused her even more than her Pig Latin nickname.

"Oh! Mune:ra! (More Pig Latin- Munera= Ramune=soda, in Japanese) Weren't you in those commercials, too?" Mai noticed, forgetting about her own confusion.

Ai put a hand up to the side of her face, blushing a brighter, more noticeable shade of carnation pink.

"Oh~ you caught me~" One of her legs got off the ground, but her knee bent to make her leg at a 90 degree angle behind her. "I used to do both TV commercials and magazine ads for them~ Usually during summer or fall, though. Plus an occasional flyer or billboard ad. Although not that much- only once in a while for new product promotions, or the rare collaborations." Nana, Mai, and Noriko stared up at her in awe. _"She's done all that, and she's still a teenager?! If she has __that__ kind of a history, she'll be in AKB first!"_ Nana and Mai thought.

"I remember I always had the jingle stuck in my head.." Mai let her head flop down to hit to edge of the table, and groaned. Everyone at the table had a laugh over her display, then let Ai continue passing out the snacks.

"And for Mana-chan; a red velvet strawberry cake, a bag of Koala's March, and a strawberry bubble tea." Ai smiled, handing the plate, cup, and bag to Manami. Ai took the last of the snacks on the tray, and sat down in her seat. "As for me, some tiramisu, a vanilla milkshake, and a chocolate coronet (Like Konata's, or the type they actually sell at Saint Honore! :D)!" She smiled.

"Itadakima~su~!" The girls' chorus was a preview of what they could do in AKB0048.

-Timeskip, after the girls finish eating-

"Well? Did everyone enjoy it?" Ai smiled. Everyone nodded, tired. Ai looked at something on the inner side of her left wrist. Everyone at the table noticed how her eyes slightly widened before she let her wrist go back to her side. The pale brunette clasped her hands together, and swung her elbows up so her hands were up by her chin. "It's getting late.. What do you girls say about a quick shopping trip before hanging out in my room?" No one could resist the charm of her smile.

Ai had put the plates and glasses back on the tray, and helped the girls clean up the table before they left. Together, the five walked down the hallways of the most luxurious place some of them have ever been in.

"Oh! The elevators are right this way~" Ai jogged ahead, forcing everyone to hurry their pace to follow her. However, the pursuit didn't last for long, since Ai ran into a blonde girl with light auburn red and light grass green streaks of dye in it.


	11. Chapter 11

(Author's Note: Hello~! I got to stay home again, since I'm still feeling under the weather. I'm actually typing this from my phone, for once~ )

"Ah~ Gomenasai~" Ai slowly got up from the ground, rubbing her forehead with her left hand. She used her other hand to help the blonde wearing a fitted tank top and much less colorful, dark navy shorts. Her wristbands and sneakers helped give her a bright, sporty look.

"It's fine, it's fine~!" The blonde took Ai's offered hand and hopped straight up. She looked behind Ai and saw Manami, Nana, Mai, and Noriko. "Oh~!" She started to stare, "You made new friends!"

"Mm-hm~" Ai cooed and smiled, and clasped her hands together once more. "We were just going to shop a bit before it's too late. Care to come along?" Nana, Mai, and Manami watched Ai converse with the blonde.

"Totally!" The blonde fist-pumped the air with both of her arms, and bent her knees when she jumped. Ai jumped with her, and the two smiled at each other. "Especially with some fellow future understudies~!" The blonde winked at the group Noriko and Manami were in. _"I swear, they really have too much confidence sometimes,"_ Noriko thought with a mental sigh.

"A new rival every minute.." Mai groaned and held her head in her hands. Manami laughed and gently pat her friend's shoulder.

"They're on the move!" Noriko threw her skateboard, jumped on it, and led Manami, Nana, and Mai. The girls ran after her as they chased the frolicking girls ahead.

"Who even..-pant-..is that girl?" Manami asked Noriko, when she caught up to her.

"Shiori Ishii. She used to be my neighbor, moved to Yorkstar, then moved back to Austar. She's 15, just like Ai." Noriko kept riding her skateboard, watching Ai and Shiori's turns. "C'mon- I think they went this way." The girls turned left in the polished wooden-floor hallways. They saw the hallway floors up ahead were light-rose marble.

Meanwhile, Ai and Shiori kept skipping and jogging.

"Where were we going, aga~in?" Shiori giggled. Ai gave one more hop, then pulled Shiori back, so that the pair stood in place.

"…Eh?" Ai gave a blank smile towards Shiori. "I think..we were..going to go shopping?" Ai faintly touched her bottom lip, and tilted her head to the right. She dropped Shiori's hand, and instead Ai wrapped an arm around her own waist, like a self-hug. Shiori simply stood with her hands at her side.

"Aren't the shops…the other way, though?" Shiori used her thumb to point over her houlder, to the hallway they just turned from. The two were laughing as they walked in the direction they started from. Ai giggled so hard that she had to wipe a tear from the corner of her right eye.

"They're turning around?!" Nana raised an eyebrow as Ai and Shiori were seen walking back.

"They're laughing, too." Mai squinted her eyes in anger.

"Wait…" Noriko, Mai, and Nana stopped to look at Manami. "Do you guys hear that too?" She looked shocked, confused, and worried.

"…Huh?" Ai did a smooth little pivot on a heel, to find the source of those rapid, sharp, clicking noises. The noises came in four different patterns, and the sources were four more girls running down the hall.

"Come on, we gotta get out of here!" A girl with pin-straight, thigh-length aquamarine hair gingerly touched Ai's shoulder with one hand, and lightly reached for and took hold of Ai's right hand with her other hand. The girl was only and inch or two taller than Ai.

"Haru…-chan?" Ai looked right into the eyes of the taller bluenette, who wore a schoolgirl uniform and brown glass. Suddenly, Ai's face glowed a bright, rosy pink. Noriko not only noticed this, but also how close the two were. Their bodies were touching, their faces closer than before, especially in her eyes. Noriko drew her board back once she was just five or six feet away from them. Her eyebrows got closer to each other, she kicked her board into her hand, and held it horizontally under her arm. Her hand became a white-knuckled fist, and it was only mere seconds before she dragged her nails on her own skateboard.

Mai and Nana let out high-pitched yips from the surprise, and Manami just stared, wide-eyed. Shiori tilted her head down, and began giggling quietly. Everyone but Ai and "Haru-chan" shifted their gaze to the awkwardly giggling girl.

"GIDDYYYY YAAAAPPP!" A white-haired, fuchsia-eyed girl in strange bright shorts and a jean-jacket hopped onto Ai's back. The force was sending Ai to the ground, although Haru and Shiori took hold of her arms to keep her up, in a panic.

(Author's note: What a great introduction for a character xD Also, three new characters in one chapter! That hasn't happened since the first chapter, hasn't it? :3 New record~! Unfortunately, I only have a few lines ahead until you're all caught up with my handwritten drafts. ;~; So I'm not sure if I'll be able to write enough tonight to upload a new chapter tomorrow…I've been thinking about posting character bios between chapters, though. Would that be interesting?)


	12. Chapter 12

(Author's Note: Hello~! I had a great weekend- how was yours? I got a cute bag that says "Tenshi Neko" and has a kitty angel on the side. The bag is pink, and is designed to look like a magazine cover :3 While we were there we went to Mitsuwa and got a lot of Japanese candy and sodas xD I found some Dragon Ball sodas, and freaked out. So far, everything tastes great! Although I did pick some "cookies" that I thought were chocolate chip or wild blueberry, but it turned out they're sesame-flavored rice crackers A Anyway, I'll continue this some other time. For now, please enjoy the chapter~!)

"N-Nony-chan! Calm down! You'll throw out Ai's back, or something!" Haru tried to pull the girl off of Ai, and Noriko ran over to help her. Shiori was helping Ai to stay standing.

"Geez, I just wanted a piggyback ride~" Nony laughed as she hopped off of Ai.

"Well ya coulda' killed her!" Noriko yelled, and got in Nony's face.

"Hush! We have to go back to our rooms- ASAP!" A girl with long green hair, a diamond-shaped hairclip, and a different school uniform than Haru's, whisper-yelled at them.

"Alright, alright, we'll go as soon as we tal-whoa!" The green-haired girl grabbed Shiori's wrist, and lead her down the hallway. Although they were confused, the rest of the girls followed them back to the secret staircase.

"What the heck is going on?" Mai had a tone in her voice when she looked at the girl ahead of her. They were all running up the stairs to go back to their rooms.

"I'm not sure. All I know is that there's D.E.S. on board." A girl with her hair twirled into buns looked over her shoulder to talk to Mai. _"What?! On a space cruise?!" _Mai internally screamed, _"How the heck were they let on board in the first place? Unless…"_

"Kaeda Ueda." The bun-haired girl said as they kept running.

"Who?" One of Mai's eyebrows lowered closer to one of her eyes.

"Me." Kaeda tried to adjust one of her hair-buns as she kept walking ahead of Mai.

"Cool." Mai said, and wondered where she heard that name before.

"And you?" Kaeda didn't even look at Mai when she spoke to her.

"Mai Sugawara." She mentally face-palmed after she nodded to look cool. _"__Kaeda__ couldn't __see__ that, stupid!"_ She looked up with wide eyes, quickly. "You were Aiji's girlfriend!" Mai hissed in a quieter tone.

"Mm." Kaeda nodded, and slowed her pace drastically. Her downward gaze shifted slightly upwards. "He tried to revive , but ultimately got his butt handed to him by the D.E.S." It was a big story, even among AKB fans.

A highschool boy found out he was named after a member of a boy band that vanished as soon as the entertainment ban was put into effect. He found a couple more members to reform the band, and performed a few short, secret concerts before getting caught by the D.E.S. It was all over after that. Still, it was interesting to imagine a music group other than AKB0048 existing.

Mai grit her teeth together just from the thought. Four teenage boys were sentenced to 40 years in prison just for trying to bring back a band. That was around 10 times what some murderers got. The D.E.S. made her sick.

The girls all went into one dorm, where two girls were sitting on a bottom bunk, and playing Go-Fish. The card players looked up with confused expressions when the other confused girls entered. The green-haired girl locked the door, and drew all blinds, shades, and curtains to block the windows.

"Everyone, sit." The girls obeyed her order, and sat in a circle in the middle of the room. Mai looked around, and saw Nana nervously crying into Ai's shoulder while Ai stroked her head, and held onto her. She was whispering something to the shaking Nana, but Mai couldn't catch any of it. She also found Manami, who was ghostly pale, and looking all around the room in a panic. "Poor kid," She thought.

"First of all, how many of you have met someone by the name of Hanako Rie? In person." She calmly glared everyone in the room, and stood behind the sitting ring of girls. Every single girl raised her hand silently.

"Good. I think it's safe to tell everyone we're all rivals to join AKB0048." She nodded to herself, as if she were confirming the fact to herself.


	13. Chapter 13

(Author's Note: Hello~! I barely have homework today, since we got to go see a play called "Little Shop of Horrors". They weren't really that good; I kept wondering why they didn't just burn the plant if it killed people. :o Also, I've been thinking of uploading some pokemon fanfics. Would anyone be interested in reading one? It would probably be about generation 4; the pokemon from Diamond/Pearl/Platinum/Sinnoh. I don't want to provide too much information, since I'm afraid of spoiling anything ;-; But for now, I hope you like this new chapter~! Merry reading~?)

"EEHH?!" Eyes darted across the entire room: every girl was checking out her rival.

"And-" Everyone ceased mumbling or staring, and gave their undivided attention to the green-haired girl. She spoke in a more serious, more hushed tone, "There is a confirmed presence of D.E.S. members aboard this ship." Chills immediately froze through the veins of every girl in the room. No one said a word, but their widened eyes spoke of their shock for them.

"We must be quiet, hidden, and swift. We don't know what they're planning. Those men could be rampaging up the staircase at this second- we must be alert every second, even when we get escorted by 0048. Until we get to Akibastar and are accepted into AKB0048, we are never 100% safe." Some girls hung on to themselves, holding onto a wrist, arm, or a waist (like hugging themselves).

"Even then, not all of us will be accepted. But until we get off this ship, I say we should have at least one girl in each room staying up each night to look out for the D.E.S. The minute you spot something, pull the fire alarm. _Immediately_. There's one in every room, but if just one goes off, the alarms for the entire floor will go off. That's the signal to escape to the downstairs. Some people are always lingering down there, so it shouldn't be difficult to hide." How could she figure this out so quickly?! "While several aspiring trainees and I, Sawako-Akiko Mariko Miura, were undercover, investigating these D.E.S. members, we were nearly discovered, but got away before they suspected an outsider was in the room."

"It wasn't my fault I started laughing!" Kaeda's face went beet red as she yelled and had her hand raised. "Sono-san was the one telling jokes!" At this, the white-haired Nony began giggling hysterically.

"Well maybe it's not _my _fault that I'm naturally funny~" She leaned back on the shoulder of the girl beside her, making that girl blush intensely. A light, neon-green diamond came glowing from the back of the green-haired girl. The kirara floated around her in tilted rings before a pink glitter shone shortly by the right eye of Nony Sono. Out of that light came a round, hot-pink kirara with the top of it's head resembling a jester's/joker's hat. The pink kirara and the green kirara met each other at a halfway point, and glared at each other. Strawberry and kiwi-colored sparks collided as the dim kiraras tried to outshine each other.


End file.
